The invention is in the field of medical devices used, adapted, or constructed to treat tissue, such as skin. Especially, the invention is a treatment device for application to tissue for treatment of the tissue. For example, the invention concerns the treatment of wounds with a treatment device that minimizes the area of the wound that is contacted by the device.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,817,145; 5,947,914; 5,954,680; 5,961,480; 5,964,721; 5,964,723; 5,986,163; 6,010,527; 6,093,160; 6,110,197; and many others, all assigned to Augustine Medical, Inc. describe treatment devices that attach to the skin and surround an area of tissue to be treated without contacting the tissue to be treated. The devices all form a controlled treatment environment over the tissue to be treated. Parameters or elements of the treatment environment such as moisture, heat, and medicaments are controlled within the treatment volume. This produces manifold beneficial effects such as accelerated wound healing, pain relief, and reduction of infection.
It nevertheless is the case that, because of varying circumstances, not all tissue on a human or animal body can be easily treated with these treatment devices. For example, it is difficult to treat large wounds on contoured dermal surfaces, without contacting the wounds. Such contact, however, is undesirable because movement or removal of the treatment device can rip out healing tissue. Further, moisture tends to collect where contact occurs, macerating the tissue.
The problem is therefore to provide a tissue treatment device configured or constructed to maintain a controlled treatment environment about tissue to be treated which is a large and/or contoured site, while minimizing contact between the tissue treatment device and the tissue being treated.